Last Modified: Sunday, February 24, 2013 at 12:30 a.m.

Photo Galleries

Limestone knocked off No. 1 Dowling College, 10-7, Saturday afternoon at Saints Field in a rematch of the 2012 title game at the New England Patriots' stadium in Foxboro, Mass. Senior attack Cory Rich scored three goals and had two assists for the Saints.

Just for a while, at least, Rich felt a little better about an 11-10 loss in a game that meant so much more than on this misty, wet, cold February day in South Carolina.

“It was a long summer and winter,” Rich said. “We tried to say it wasn't a revenge game, but I wanted revenge. I had a long summer because of those guys.”

Could this impressive win be enough to vault fourth-ranked Limestone (2-0) to the top of the Division II polls when they come out next week?

“I sure hope not,” Limestone head coach J.B. Clarke said. “You just want to keep plugging away. People want to come after us anyway. We don't need that in front of our name. … It would be silly for us to be No. 1 right now. Maybe you put us ahead of Dowling, but I don't think you can put us at the top of the polls just yet.”

Limestone scored a pair of man-up goals in the first half following Dowling penalties and then tacked on another when Connor DeVoe scored on a pass from Riley Loewen with 7.9 seconds left in the half to give the Saints a 5-3 advantage.

“Certainly, the power plays helped a lot,” Clarke said. “We played well. I told the team at the half that we were up, but we had three man-up situations in the first half and they had none. Usually, that turns around. It sure did.”

Dowling scored a man-up goal, its second straight, to make it 9-7 with 9:20 left in the game. Limestone was able to use most of the clock in that fourth quarter, however, and Todd Nakasuji cashed in on a crucial goal with seven minutes remaining to basically put it out of reach.

“It was a big win,” said Loewen, the reigning national player of the week. “But we can't take too much from it because it was Dowling's first game of the season. We just wanted to come out and play hard and worry about us and what we wanted to do. … But it's a confidence-builder, especially with the schedule we have. It's a good boost, for sure.”

Nakasuji had two goals, while Devoe, Zach Cummings and Reid Reinholdt each had one. Cummings, DeVoe, Loewen and Vinny Ricci had assists.

Limestone goalkeeper Christian Dzwilewski, a senior who transferred from Providence College, had 13 saves, including a few spectacular ones in the second half.

“He's just that athletic,” Clarke said. “He's a superior athlete and prepares well. He's mentally focused for each game and he practices like that. Sometimes we have to take him out of practices so we can score some goals.”

Dzwilewski said it was never comfortable in the net, not even ahead three goals in the fourth quarter.

“We just dug deep,” he said. “We knew it was going to be a messy game with the weather and the grass and all that. … There were a lot of shots I could see and some I should not have let in. But I think the offense really pulled us through to keep the pressure off.”

Limestone plays Wednesday at Lees-McRae, then has home games March 2 against Wheeling Jesuit and Coker before facing No. 5 Merrimack and No. 3 Le Moyne, both in Baltimore.

<p>GAFFNEY — This won't exactly ease the pain of last season's NCAA Division II lacrosse national championship. But it might help.</p><p>Limestone knocked off No. 1 Dowling College, 10-7, Saturday afternoon at Saints Field in a rematch of the 2012 title game at the New England Patriots' stadium in Foxboro, Mass. Senior attack Cory Rich scored three goals and had two assists for the Saints.</p><p>Just for a while, at least, Rich felt a little better about an 11-10 loss in a game that meant so much more than on this misty, wet, cold February day in South Carolina.</p><p>“It was a long summer and winter,” Rich said. “We tried to say it wasn't a revenge game, but I wanted revenge. I had a long summer because of those guys.”</p><p>Could this impressive win be enough to vault fourth-ranked Limestone (2-0) to the top of the Division II polls when they come out next week?</p><p>“I sure hope not,” Limestone head coach J.B. Clarke said. “You just want to keep plugging away. People want to come after us anyway. We don't need that in front of our name. … It would be silly for us to be No. 1 right now. Maybe you put us ahead of Dowling, but I don't think you can put us at the top of the polls just yet.”</p><p>Limestone scored a pair of man-up goals in the first half following Dowling penalties and then tacked on another when Connor DeVoe scored on a pass from Riley Loewen with 7.9 seconds left in the half to give the Saints a 5-3 advantage.</p><p>“Certainly, the power plays helped a lot,” Clarke said. “We played well. I told the team at the half that we were up, but we had three man-up situations in the first half and they had none. Usually, that turns around. It sure did.”</p><p>Dowling scored a man-up goal, its second straight, to make it 9-7 with 9:20 left in the game. Limestone was able to use most of the clock in that fourth quarter, however, and Todd Nakasuji cashed in on a crucial goal with seven minutes remaining to basically put it out of reach.</p><p>“It was a big win,” said Loewen, the reigning national player of the week. “But we can't take too much from it because it was Dowling's first game of the season. We just wanted to come out and play hard and worry about us and what we wanted to do. … But it's a confidence-builder, especially with the schedule we have. It's a good boost, for sure.”</p><p>Nakasuji had two goals, while Devoe, Zach Cummings and Reid Reinholdt each had one. Cummings, DeVoe, Loewen and Vinny Ricci had assists.</p><p>Limestone goalkeeper Christian Dzwilewski, a senior who transferred from Providence College, had 13 saves, including a few spectacular ones in the second half.</p><p>“He's just that athletic,” Clarke said. “He's a superior athlete and prepares well. He's mentally focused for each game and he practices like that. Sometimes we have to take him out of practices so we can score some goals.”</p><p>Dzwilewski said it was never comfortable in the net, not even ahead three goals in the fourth quarter.</p><p>“We just dug deep,” he said. “We knew it was going to be a messy game with the weather and the grass and all that. … There were a lot of shots I could see and some I should not have let in. But I think the offense really pulled us through to keep the pressure off.”</p><p>Limestone plays Wednesday at Lees-McRae, then has home games March 2 against Wheeling Jesuit and Coker before facing No. 5 Merrimack and No. 3 Le Moyne, both in Baltimore.</p>